


Visions of You

by WaywardSociopath



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 00:45:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17735795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaywardSociopath/pseuds/WaywardSociopath
Summary: Dean and Sam finish a case and return to Bobby’s, where Bobby gets a call from another hunter friend.





	1. Chapter 1-Cold

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER. I DON’T OWN SUPERNATURAL. THERE. I SAID IT. Although, Warner Brothers, call me.
> 
> See end for notes.

Dean took a sip of his beer. He and Sam sat at Bobby’s kitchen table, having just finished hunting a lone vampire. Bobby sat in the other room at the computer.   
“Man, that vamp was strong, for a chick.” Mused Dean.  
“Ha. You’re telling me.” Said Sam.   
“Would y’all quit whining like babies?” Bobby called.   
They were interrupted by the phone ringing. Bobby looked at the number and picked it up.

“Anna?” He asked.   
A pause.  
“Balls! Really? How close are you to Sioux Falls?”  
A longer pause.  
“Well shag ass, then.”  
He hung up.  
“Who was that?” Asked Sam.  
“Friend of mine. She’s a hunter too. Says she got cut up pretty bad dealin’ with three werewolves. She’s about twenty minutes out.”  
“Hey, I thought we were your only friends.” Dean joked.  
“Idjit.”

Dean downed the rest of his beer. Sam pulled out his computer.  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We just got finished with a case. Take a breather, Sammy.”  
“Fine.” Sam reluctantly put his laptop away. Dean went to the fridge and got another beer.

About fifteen minutes later, he heard a car pull into the lot, and when he looked out the window, through the dark he saw a dark-haired girl climb out of an old red Nova. She walked- stalked- to the door and knocked once. Bobby got up and let her in. Dean was impressed that she was still vertical. Her nose was bleeding, she’d ripped off a piece of her shirt and tied it tightly over one wrist, and she was holding a blood soaked bandana to one side. Another girl followed close behind.

“Boys, this is-” Bobby started.  
“Johanna Paige Wayland. At your service. That’s Jane.” She cut him off. Even with one side in ribbons, she managed to sketch a sarcastic bow. She set down the bag that she had been holding. “I’m assuming these are the Winchesters?” She said, looking at Bobby.   
He nodded in response.  
“So Anna-” Dean began.  
“Only he gets to call me that. Dental floss?” Bobby quickly fetched some and tossed it to her. She caught it one handed. Then she produced a needle and some whiskey from her bag. Jane paled slightly and went upstairs.  
“Guess I’d better go get something to eat.” Said Bobby.  
“I’ll go with.” Said Sam.  
“And I guess I’ll stay here and make sure you don’t bleed out.” Dean told Johanna. She gave him a bitch face.   
Sam and Bobby decided it was a good time to leave. 

Sitting down, being cautious of her wounds, Johanna peeled her shirt off to reveal a black sports bra. Dean gaped.  
“Well I’ve got to stitch it up.” She said, and when he still didn’t respond, “Close your mouth. Didn’t anybody tell you you’ll catch flies?”   
Dean retreated back into the kitchen and called Bobby. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked.  
“Are you sure this girl’s human?” Dean whispered. “She’s stone cold!”   
“That’s her alright. I’ve known the girl since she was little.”  
“What happened?”  
“It doesn’t matter. She works alone. She trusts no one. That’s just her.” Bobby hung up. 

When Dean returned, she had completely stitched up her side and was clipping the end of the thread on her wrist. Looking at her closely, Dean noticed how thin she was. Everything about her was long and lean. 

“Hey. Shoulder’s dislocated. Come help me?”   
“Um, it’s gonna hurt. A lot.”  
“Excellent deduction, Sherlock freaking Holmes. I know it’s gonna hurt. I’ve done it myself before.” She offered him her arm.   
“Smells like bitch in here.”   
“I’ve been called worse things by better people, sweetheart you’re gonna have to try harder than that.” 

Dean took her arm and pushed it back into place with slightly more force than was necessary. All he got out of her was a small ‘mph.’ She had an attitude but she was tough as iron nails, he’d give her that.

“Jane!” She called. “My guts are back in my body, you can come down now if you want.” Slowly, Jane came down the stairs and sat on the couch.   
“So.” Dean said. “What were you hunting?”   
“Small pack of werewolves. Nothing more than I could handle. You?”  
“A vamp.”  
“Hm.”

After a few moments of silence, Sam and Bobby returned with some burgers. They ate quietly. Johanna inhaled hers, and finished everything Jane didn’t eat. Sam and Dean exchanged a look that said ‘Jesus Christ.’ Bobby gave them a knowing look. Johanna stood up.   
“Whoa,” said Bobby, “where ya goin’?”  
“To move my car,” she responded, “relax.” With that she strode out the door.   
“Is-” started Dean.  
“She’s always like this.” Said Jane. The first words she’d spoken.  
“What, cold and mysterious?”  
“Yup. She sang an exorcism to a demon once, I’d say that’s pretty cold.”  
“Jesus.”  
“You should see her with her claws out.”  
“Do I want to?”  
“Actually probably not.”   
“Lovely.”

Johanna came back in, this time holding another bag. She sat down cross legged on the floor and motioned for Jane to follow. She pulled out two guns and set a timer on her watch.  
“Go.” She said.  
They each field stripped their weapons. Johanna finished first. 

“Aw, come on. Again.” She said. They went again. 

Bobby decided to retire for the night, and after watching Johanna and Jane play a few more rounds of their little game, so did Sam and Dean. Dean took the couch, Sam took the floor, and the girls went upstairs. Sam was out cold within minutes, but not Dean. After about fifteen minutes, Johanna crept softly down the stairs and out the door. Jane wasn’t with her. He heard her car start, and heard the gravel shift as she drove off. Dean wasn’t awake when she returned.

~time skip brought to you by Sam snoring like an old man~

When Johanna came downstairs the next morning, Dean was the only one awake.  
“Where’d you run off to last night?” He asked warily.  
“I was with your wife.” She said, with a straight face.  
Dean thought of Lisa and Ben. Seeing Dean’s face she gave a humorless laugh.   
“Really.” He said flatly. “How come I don’t believe you?”  
“Maybe because I’m not a lesbian.”  
“Then where were you?”  
“I was go screw yourself, that’s where.”  
Dean sighed the deepest sigh that could possibly come out of a human being. “Dammit.”

It was going to be a very long weekend.


	2. Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER. Because I apparently can’t say it enough times.

“Sam,” Dean asked, “How long do we have to do this for?”  
“Dean, relax. It’s fine. She’s fine. She can’t be that bad.” 

Johanna was in the basement with Bobby, and Dean was working on Baby, whose air conditioning wasn’t working. He’d been complaining to Sam about her. 

“She’s not normal! She’s heartless! Soulless!”  
Sam ignored the joke. “She does know how to play the mystery card, if that’s what you mean.”  
“No! Have you seen her?”  
Sam laughed.  
“Didn’t you hear what Bobby and Jane said? She’s crazy!”  
“Dean, she’s not that bad.” 

They heard her open the door, and Dean shoved a wrench into his pocket to make it look as if he was actually doing something. He turned to face her.

“Is that a wrench in your pocket,” Johanna asked, “or are you just happy to see me?”  
Sam was shaking with bouts of silent laughter. Dean threw the wrench at her, and she caught it easily with one hand. Sam laughed even harder. She tossed it back to him. Dean put Baby’s dash back together and stormed inside. Sam was still wracked with fits of laughter. He found Johanna cleaning dirt out from under her nails. With a freaking machete. Jane came down the stairs holding a bag. It was almost as big as she was.

“You heading out?” Asked Johanna.  
“Yeah.” She said quietly.  
“You wanna take the Nova?” Johanna held out the keys.  
“No. Bobby says he’s got a car he can lend me.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Know when you’ll be back?”  
“Not sure.”  
“Okay. Call me if you need anything.”  
“Yeah, I will.” 

Johanna nodded, and Jane walked out the door. Dean heard an engine turn over a few times and finally start, and then Jane left. Aw, crap. They were going to be alone with Johanna, and Jane seemed to be the only thing that was keeping her in check. It was a wonder how someone as soft and quiet seeming as Jane would be riding with someone like Johanna. He thought about their exchange. Jane didn’t seem fazed by Johanna at all. In fact, Johanna seemed like the only one she would talk to. Still, something seemed severely not-right about her, though Dean didn’t know what. It rubbed him so many ways and all of them were wrong.

Demon, maybe? No. She’d had salt on her food the night before. That also ruled out ghost. Werewolf? No, the needle she’d used to stitch herself up had been silver plated. Angel? No. Too much of a bitch, not a mindless slave, and no lack of social skills. And what kind of angel drove a car? She wasn’t a vamp, Dean would have seen her fangs. What was she then? Bobby would know.

Dean found Bobby still in the basement, fixing one of the iron devil’s traps in the panic room.   
“Are we seriously alone with her?” He complained.  
“Listen son, I know she pushes your buttons, but she’s a good hunter.”  
“Why does she have to stay here, specifically?”   
“Why not? She’s not on a job, and I ain’t seen her in years, so I figure she can stay for a few days. While she’s healin’ up.”  
“Aw, Christ.”  
“She is fine, Dean!”  
“What if she got turned while she was out? We’d have no way of knowing. You said it yourself, you haven’t seen her in years. What if she really is a monster?”  
“Dean-”

Bobby was abruptly cut off by Dean walking swiftly out the door and slamming it shut behind him. He went back outside with the intent of finally fixing Baby’s air-co, and found Johanna underneath her own car. In the daylight Dean could see that it was a nineteen-sixty-eight Chevrolet Nova. It was about as bright a red as you could think to imagine, with black leather seats. He had to admit she did have a good taste in cars. She wasn’t even laying on a creeper or a piece of cardboard, just the bare ground. 

“Hey Deanna.” She said smirking.  
‘This is ass-backwards.’ Dean thought.  
“How did you know it was me? You’re under a freakin’ car.”  
“Your stride. Sam’s stride length is longer, and you tread lighter than Bobby does.”  
Dean pretended to not be surprised at how observant she was. He didn’t bother to mask his annoyance.  
“Can we talk?” He asked.  
Johanna slid out from under the car with predatory grace.

“Depends. What about?” She was still lying on her back. She put her hands behind her head and looked up at him. Dean shifted uncomfortably.  
“You.”  
She raised an eyebrow.  
“You’re not human. I don’t know what you are, but something’s not right with you.”  
He now had the interest of both of Johanna’s eyebrows.  
“Why do you say that?” She asked.   
“No human being can be this cold and mysterious. Now tell me what you are!” He yelled the last part. Johanna didn’t even blink.

She was silent, but it was a ‘Really?’ Kind of silence. She stood and walked around to the back of the car. She opened the trunk of the car and pulled out a sliver flask.   
“What are you doing.” Not quite a question.  
“Salt mixed with holy water. Check it yourself if you want.” Dean took the flask and examined it. She wasn’t bluffing. She drank it and somehow maintained a straight face. The only thing it affected was her taste buds. She pulled out a silver knife.  
“Okay, okay, I get it, you’re human.” Dean sighed grudgingly.   
“Not that I need to prove anything to you of all people, but hey, whatever gets you through the night buddy.”  
“So if you’re not a monster, then does that mean that you’re just a bitch?”  
“Technically, yes, if you want to think of it like that. Oh, and, public service announcement, come up with a better insult than ‘bitch.’”  
“Whatever.”  
“Bitter, party of one, your table’s ready.” In one fluid motion, she slid back under the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the short chapters. Please give me your feedback. I am open to constructive criticism, and if you’re going to leave a hate comment, please do make it interesting. :)


	3. Angry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a few days, sorry I was out of town.

Dean was fuming as he walked out to the car. He’d almost gotten into a fight with Johanna, and he needed to get out of the house or else he would spontaneously combust. He knew there was a small nest of vamps about twenty miles from Sioux Falls, and he was fairly sure that he could handle it without Sam’s help. He climbed into the car, and once he was on the main road, he dropped the hammer. It took him twenty minutes to get to the nest. There were only two, maybe three vamps max, and he needed to take his rage out on something.

He got out of the car and grabbed his knife, in his haste forgetting to bring the dead man’s blood with him. Dean strode into the old abandoned warehouse where the nest was, and was greeted by a vamp. He sliced it’s head off, only to be taken by surprise by two more that he hadn’t seen. He was out cold before he hit the ground.

Dean woke up tied to a chair with his hands and feet bound. The two vampires were slowly circling him. One of them was holding his knife.   
“Dean Winchester.” Said the female. “We’ve heard so much about you.” She drew out the ‘so.’  
“Only bad things, I hope.” Said Dean.   
“The worst.” Replied her companion.  
“Well, this has been a nice little chat, but I think I’m gonna leave now.” He said.  
“Oh no,” said the girl, “you’re not going anywhere until we say you are. Now, the only question is, do we kill you? Or do we turn you?”  
Dean struggled against the bonds, trying to free his hands. He had no luck. The female leaned in close.   
“We could use you in our ranks. Having a hunter among us would be a big advantage. But you do look so delicious.”   
Dean struggled harder.  
“Kick and scream all you want honey, you’re not going anywhere.” Her fangs came out. Dean could feel her warm breath on his skin. Her fangs lightly grazed his throat. He wanted to gag. Then something fell from the ceiling. Not something, someone. They landed in a crouch. The fangs turned, only to be beheaded in one sweep by a machete-wielding Johanna.   
“You're welcome.” She said.   
“You wanna untie me?” Dean half-yelled.  
“No. Not really.” She deadpanned. She turned as if to walk away.  
“If you don’t untie me…”   
“You’ll what? You can’t do anything if you’re bound.”  
She had a point. Knowing she was right and that she’d won, Johanna untied Dean.   
“How did you even get in here?” He asked.  
“I climbed one of the trees outside to get to the roof, and there was a hole I could fit through.” She made it sound obvious.  
“How’d you find me?”   
“I knew there was a nest here. It’s where you were most likely to go to take out your anger.”  
“How’d you know that?”  
“Because it’s what I’d do.”  
Dean was at a loss. How did Johanna know him this well?  
“Well, now I’m even more pissed off. And stop comparing me to you.” He complained.  
“Figures. Follow me.” She commanded. She ignored his last comment.   
“Follow you where?”   
“You’ll see.” Johanna climbed into her car through the open window. Dean sighed. She led the way, and Dean drove close behind.  
‘What The hell am I doing?’ He thought. He ignored the logical part of his brain and followed her anyway. She turned onto a two-lane dirt road and stopped. Dean pulled up beside her and rolled down the window. They were in the middle of a forest.  
“Well you’ve got me out here, what are we doing?”  
She didn’t say anything, she just revved the engine. Dean’s eyes widened slightly. She grinned, a spider’s smile. Dean shook his head. Johanna shifted into drive, but stayed put. Dean reluctantly followed suit. Johanna hit the gas. She was off in a blur of red, leaving a trail of dust behind her. Dean punched the throttle.   
“Come on Baby.” He urged. They exploded out of the tree line and into a giant open clearing. He eventually caught up to her, but couldn’t pass her. Finally she slowed at the other end of the clearing. Once Dean got stopped, he looked over at her. Her hair was windblown from the open car window, and she was grinning wickedly. 

And sitting in the clearing under the open sky, Dean couldn’t help but smile too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was short, I’ve just been having writer’s block because these are mostly just filler chapters. :)


	4. Stitches and Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one’s a bit longer, 1000 words exactly, so, don’t @ me.

After the race, tensions between Dean and Johanna lessened slightly. They weren’t at each other’s throats quite as often, though part of that may have been due to the return of Jane, who’d finished a hunt and come back three days later. He’d soon figured out though, that Jane wasn’t quite as innocent as she seemed. One night, Johanna had come home late, with her dark hair windblown and her cheeks rosy. Bobby had asked where she’d been, and she’d admitted that she went street racing.

“Of all the illegal things to do,” Bobby had grumbled. 

Unable to stand the tense silence between them, Jane had spoken up.  
“What did Cinderella say when she got to the ball?” She’d asked quietly. She’d shared a look with Johanna, and they simultaneously made a choking noise. After choking on his beer, Sam had laughed so hard he almost cried. Bobby hadn’t looked surprised, not in the slightest. Then one night at the dinner table, after non stop begging from Jane, Johanna had told everyone the exorcism story about when she sang to a demon. They had all laughed. 

“You think that’s funny?” Johanna had asked. “She tap danced.” 

Sam had choked on his food. Dean had rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head that Bobby asked if he had seen his brain. 

But Jane’s presence didn’t fix everything. When she didn’t have something to do, Johanna got restless. And when she got restless, she was a mythic bitch. Dean had told her as much one of the times that they’d had it out. For three days, she was snappy and horrible, and hardly anyone except Bobby dared even go near her, Jane included. So when she heard about a pack of werewolves in Vermillion, South Dakota, no one protested when she packed up her things and left. No one heard from her for two days, which normally would have worried them, but everyone was still getting over Johanna’s temper. 

~time skip brought to you by Jane listening to Being As An Ocean and La Dispute~

On the night of the second day, she pulled into the junkyard and trudged through the door without knocking, thus awakening a shirtless and disheveled Dean. Her face was almost white, and she swayed nearly imperceptibly. 

“What happened?” He asked, sitting bolt upright.  
“‘M fine.” She slurred, sitting down on the couch.  
“No, you’re not.” Dean insisted.  
She pointedly ignored him. “Whiskey.”

Dean retrieved some. He offered her a glass, but she just drank straight from the bottle.  
“Now,” he instructed, “take off your shirt.”  
With some effort, Johanna raised her eyebrows, but reluctantly did so. She winced as she lifted her arms. Dean almost passed out at what he saw. There was a messily stitched gash under her left breast, as if something had been aiming for her heart. It wasn’t bleeding, but it was definitely fresh. 

“What the hell is this?” Dean half-yelled.  
“What’s it look like?” She shot back.  
“It looks like you almost got yourself killed!”  
“But I didn’t.”  
“And what if you hadn’t been able to stitch it up? Huh? What then?”  
“Then I would have died bloody! Like a hunter! It happens to all of us, Deanna! I don’t know if you’d noticed, but our life expectancies aren’t exactly the best!”  
“Exactly, so why go do something so stupid and reckless when we’re already at a disadvantage here?”  
“I’m twenty-eight, I can make my own decisions!”  
“What about Jane? She’s fourteen. Where would she be if you kicked it?”  
“Contrary to popular belief, Jane can make her own choices!”  
“You can’t go off on your own like that again. I’m not having your damn blood on my conscience!”  
“You didn’t have anything to do with it!”  
“I let you walk out!”  
“So?”  
“You almost died.”  
“And maybe I’m okay with that!” 

This shocked Dean into silence. Dean took a long drink from the whiskey on the table. They sat like that for a while, simmering with anger, until they each finally cooled down and Johanna spoke.  
“What gave me away?” She asked.  
Dean just sang the chorus to ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale.’ 

“Her face, at first just ghostly,  
Turned a whiter shade of pale.”

Dean gave her dental floss, scissors, and a needle, and she cleaned up the stitches a bit. He looked at her exposed torso.

“Why don’t you have an anti-possession tattoo?” He asked, indicating his own.

Johanna stayed silent and pulled her bra strap aside. For a moment everything looked normal, but then Dean saw a mark, the same as his. The only difference was, while his was ink, Johanna’s was literally carved into her skin. It must have been deep, considering how prominent the scar was. And doing it had to have hurt like a bitch. 

“Where did that come from?” He questioned.  
“I did it myself. I was thirteen, there was no way I’d be able to get a tattoo, so I cut it into my own skin. Hurt like hell itself, but it works.”  
“What about this?” She asked, pointing to a small, faint scar above his eyebrow.  
“Sam. We were kids, and we got into a fight. He punched me, and it left a split.” Dean took a sip from the bottle of whiskey. “That?” He pointed to two thin symmetrical lines where her neck met her shoulders.

“Captured and tortured by a demon. Son of a bitch cut me up pretty bad. They weren’t big, but he doused me in salt mixed with holy water. I guess as a really freakin’ ironic ‘screw you.’ I was fifteen.” She took a drink. 

Back and forth they went, one of them pointing to the other’s scars, telling tales from hunts or fights where they got them. They kept going, telling stories until the bottle of whiskey was empty and they’d almost run out of visible scars. Then Dean, bearing Johanna’s wounds in mind, moved onto the floor, and they slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S., Spot the broadway reference! Comment if you get it.


	5. Stalemate

After her return, Dean and Johanna were at a bit of an impasse. Dean still didn’t like her almost getting killed, but he grudgingly accepted that he couldn’t control her. She definitely wasn’t going to stop, but she acknowledged the fact that she couldn’t just do what she wanted anymore. At least, not without backlash from a certain green-eyed hunter. Everyone else noticed the change, but they knew enough not to question anything, or they’d get their heads bitten off (by Dean OR Johanna, there was honestly no telling). Jane was happy about the stalemate, this way she didn’t have to keep restraining one or both of them.

Dean was admittedly pretty happy with them not being at each other’s throats all the time. He could get used to them tolerating each other. At first it had been pretty weird. The shock that passed through her eyes when he’d asked her to toss him a beer was almost priceless. But his reaction had been exactly the same when she’d actually done it. 

When Jane wasn’t out on a hunt, she and Sam tried to come up with a ship name for the two of them. Jean was a possibility. Bobby was just happy that they weren’t trying to spill each other’s guts all over his hardwood floor. They still took cases- they were hunters after all- but most of the time they worked together. If, of course, by together you meant Johanna and Dean racing each other to job sites while Sam and Jane sat shotgun rolling their eyes, or playing music trivia to pass the time while both being extremely disappointed in Jane for only knowing one Bon Jovi song. 

“How is that even possible?” Dean had asked. “You ride with HER.” He’d stabbed a finger in Johanna’s general direction. Jane had just shrugged. 

When they weren’t working a job, they hung out at Bobby’s. Johanna introduced Dean to the wondrous movie that was Tombstone.

“How have I never seen this before?” He’d asked incredulously. 

She’d shrugged. They watched every John Wayne movie that was ever made. Johanna’s favorite was True Grit. Dean liked The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Jane didn’t like western movies. Once again Dean was shocked. 

They listened to Louden Swain in Johanna’s car. Dean swore that voice sounded so familiar. Johanna said it was a coincidence. After hearing her call him Deanna, Sam and Jane had agreed that that would be their ship name. When the subject came up, Dean would snap “Shut up Sam,” and Johanna would spit “Shut up Jane.”

After Jane revealed that Johanna could sing, everyone mercilessly begged to hear her. She refused, much to everyone’s disappointment. Everything was going okay; at least, as okay as you could hope for from a bunch of hunters. 

Until one night, when Dean was sleeping downstairs and woke up to footsteps. It was Johanna. She crept quietly out the door carrying a misshapen bag. She didn’t return until just before dawn. She returned without the bag. Dean was already awake. She stiffened when she saw that he was up. 

“Where were you?” He asked.  
“It doesn’t matter.” She said.  
“Sure you didn’t go bury a body?”   
“What? Why would you think… No.”  
“If you weren’t burying someone, where were you?”  
“Out.”  
“What was in the bag?”  
“Nothing that you should be worried about.”  
“Really? How come I don’t believe you?  
“You know what, we’re not having that conversation now.”  
“No, we’re having that conversation when I say we are, because I deserve to know what’s going on around here!” He was answered with a hard elbow to the chest that almost knocked the wind out of him.  
“Guys?” Their raised voices had woken Jane, and she stood at the door to the room. “What’s going on?” She asked quietly.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Dean aggressively jabbed a finger at Johanna. She wore a look that said ‘I dare you.’ Jane was smart enough to turn around and walk away. Dean looked at Johanna and muttered ‘whore.’ She just gave him a supersonic right hook to the jaw and went outside. He was holding ice to his face when Sam woke up.  
“That’ll leave a mark.” Sam said. “Where’d you get it?”  
“Shut up.” Dean grimaced at the pain following the movement.   
“Johanna, then.”  
“I said shut up!” 

They were interrupted by the sound of gunshots. Looking out the kitchen window, Dean saw Johanna holding her gun. She’d set up beer bottles on top of one of Bobby’s old junk cars. She hit each one and exploded it, then turned and shot at the tops of the trees until she’d used all her ammunition. She stayed outside for the rest of the day, fixing cars for Bobby, and doing whatever else she could find. Everyone noticed the newly formed tensions. No one asked any questions though. They weren’t stupid. Or suicidal. 

Dean’s jaw did in fact, bruise, and for a moment he thought it was dislocated. It wasn’t but he still didn’t want to take another punch from her again. It had hurt like hell.   
Thankfully, Jane didn’t leave on a case this time, she stayed around so no one killed each other. Johanna took a few cases, but they were small. She’d be gone a day, maybe two days at most. In the span of five minutes, they’d gone all the way back to square one. Dean took cases too, but his luck was about the same. Garth had come by for a day, but he’d sensed the tensions between them as well. He’d given them all awkward hugs and left that same afternoon. 

Dean and Sam fought more, too. Everyone was on edge, and it showed. In small things, like Dean getting pie and only eating one bite. Johanna started going out more and more at night to do the-devil-knows-what. After a while she started to come back with her throat ravaged, and eventually she stopped trying to hide her nightly outings or broken voice. And even if she did sound like she swallowed bees in a shattered glass hive, she was as obnoxious as ever.   
At one point even Jane couldn’t handle it, and she bailed again. 

And then it turned into a game; who would break first?


	6. There’s Been A Change In Me

Who would break first? Dean and Johanna both refused to give up, purely out of pride. It lasted a week. He broke when Johanna came home one morning and had lost her voice again. The same as every other time, he asked where she’d been. And the same as every other time, she refused to tell him.  
“Where were you?” Dean snapped.  
“Out.” She rasped.  
“Why is your voice like that?”  
“How about ‘cause I was blowing your boyfriend all night? Why, you jealous?”  
“What? No.” She raised an eyebrow.  
“Shut up.”  
“Hm.”  
“I said shut up!”   
“And I said ‘hm.’”   
Dean threw the door open and walked out, not bothering to close it behind him. Johanna smiled.  
That day, Johanna and Jane found a case in Nebraska. They left without saying goodbye. Bobby figured that everyone could use some time away from each other. Dean was just happy she was gone. He sat down on the couch with a beer and the intent of watching a movie. Sam sat down next to him.   
“Hey.” Said Dean. “What’s up?”  
“Nothing.”  
“It’s not nothing. You’ve got that ‘we need to talk’ look. What?”  
“You’ve been acting different lately. Around Johanna.”  
“Maybe because she’s been sneaking out every night for the past two weeks!”  
“No, it’s different than that.”  
“Well then I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Fine.” Sam stood up and left, knowing he was right anyways. Dean’s mind raced. Something did seem unsettling. Not the sneaking out, it actually wasn’t anything she was doing. It was just her. She gave Dean chills, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.  
After about a week, everyone was calmed down from the ordeal with Johanna. He’d refuse to ever admit it, but a part of Dean was starting to miss having her around. At the end of the week she called Bobby and told him she’d found another case. Jane didn’t want to stay, so she hitchhiked her way back to Bobby’s. Dean said he’d drive out and meet Johanna. Sam decided to stay behind.   
When he got to the address that Johanna had sent him, he found the Nova already waiting there. Johanna was still in the driver’s seat. He got out of his car and slipped into the passenger’s seat.   
“What are we looking at?” He asked.  
“A demon.” She replied, looking slightly surprised that he wasn’t trying to bite her head off.  
“So, exorcism. Well I’ve got the books in the car-”  
“No, so do I, but I think I can cure it.”  
“Cure a demon? But for that you’d need-”  
“Holy blood, yeah.”  
“How did you know that? You’re not a Woman of Letters, are you?”  
“The Men of Letters? No. Did you honestly think you and Sam were the only ones who helped clean up the mess after you opened the gate and busted Colt’s devil’s trap? I learned some things.”  
This shocked Dean into silence for a moment.   
“Well do you need blood?”   
“No. I’ve got enough left.”   
“So what now?”   
“Do you already have a room?”  
“Yeah, I dropped off most of my stuff on the way here.”  
“Okay. I say go back to the motel and get whatever kind of shut-eye we can, then in the morning we trap it here and start working.”   
“Sounds like a plan.”  
“I’ll grab some burgers on the way back. We can eat there.”  
Dean got back in his car, and a few minutes after Dean got to the hotel, she knocked on his door. He opened it, and she stepped in, with a bag in one hand and a six pack in the other.  
“I bring cheeseburgers and beer.” She said.   
“Bacon?” He asked.  
“Duh.” She set down the six pack and handed Dean a burger. He tore into it like a starving, rabid animal. Johanna tossed him a beer, sat down on the edge of the bed, and started eating.   
“You know,” she said around a mouthful, “there’s a Tom Petty concert tomorrow night. If we finish the demon quick enough we could go.”  
“Hell yeah.” Dean said, also with his mouth full.   
They finished eating in silence, and then Johanna stood up to leave.   
“Where are you going?” He asked.  
“My room.” She said slowly. “Unless you want me to sleep in here with you?” She didn’t even give Dean a chance to respond, just strode out the door.  
The next morning, Dean was awake early. He knew he wasn’t going back to sleep, so he decided to wake Johanna and start on the demon. He knocked on her door, and when she didn’t get up to open it, he picked the lock. She was sprawled across the bed on her back, with her hair in a braid like it usually was. She was wearing an oversized R.E.M t-shirt, and all the blankets were in a pile at the foot of the bed. Dean’s eyes flicked to her bare legs. Shaking his head, he crossed the room to the bed and laid a hand on her shoulder. Big mistake.  
Johanna pulled a gun out of the-devil-knows-where, and the next thing he knew the barrel was against his forehead.   
“Whoa, easy baby, it’s me.” He was rewarded with a whack from the butt of the gun. Johanna sat all the way up.   
“What are you doing at five thirty in the morning?”  
“Woke up and couldn’t sleep, figured we could go ahead and get started on the demon.”  
“Sounds fine. Let me get some pants.”  
Dean left the room, and Johanna emerged looking like her normal flannel-clad self, with her hair rebraided. They drove back to the house, drag racing because it was early and the streets were empty and because they could. They pulled up at almost exactly the same time. Dean grabbed the cuffs, rope, and paint, while Johanna got the sanctified blood.   
“Whose?” Dean asked, indicating the blood.  
“Mine.” Said Johanna.   
“You went to confession?”   
“Don’t look so shocked, Deanna.”   
He didn’t say anything, just silently followed her to the door. She pulled a pin out of her hair and picked the lock. They quietly entered the house. She motioned up the stairs, and Dean nodded. They heard the demon in one of the bedrooms, and on the count of three they flung the door open and had it on the floor in cuffs.   
“Hunters.” He spat.  
“Well duh.” Said Johanna. “Let’s get started.”

~time skip brought to you by Johanna humming ‘You Are My Sunshine’ while curing the demon~

Six hours later, they were both hungry again, so Dean offered to go get a pizza. He returned with a pizza and a cooler full of beer. When he got back, Johanna had just given it the sixth dose of blood, and Dean could tell the demon was cracking.   
“God, have mercy!” It screamed.   
Johanna was being… not sympathetic, but not as cruel as when she’d started.   
“Two more. Come on, it won’t kill you. You’ll just wish it would.”  
When Dean held up the pizza, she looked as if she wanted to hug him. She settled for inhaling a slice of pizza instead.   
“Now this is the life.” Dean said. “Eating crap food and hunting demons with a hot chick.”   
Dean realized his mistake. Johanna raised an eyebrow.   
“I just mean you’re… aesthetically pleasing.” He corrected.  
“Well then you’re aesthetically pleasing too.”  
They finished the pizza, and Johanna went outside for a break. Then the demon spoke.  
“She’s got a wanderer’s heart, boy. Best be careful.”  
“I got no idea what you’re talking about.”   
They both shut up before she came back in. The treatment was successful, and after curing the demon, they went back to the hotel.   
“Whose car are we taking?” She asked.   
Dean gave her a questioning look.   
“Well we only need one.”   
“Baby.”  
“Okay. I’m going to change.”  
“Why?”  
“It’s 85 degrees and we’re in two layers. Put on a t-shirt.”  
Johanna walked to her own room, and Dean expected her to do the same, but when he walked out to the car in a t-shirt, Johanna was wearing denim shorts with a red bandanna as a top. Dean blinked.   
“Ready?” She asked.  
As they drove, Dean found it a bit difficult to keep his eyes on the road while Johanna was sitting next to him. The concert consisted of them screaming ‘Into The Great Wide Open’ and ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ and drinking enough that they shouldn’t have been driving, but they did. On the car ride home Johanna was humming ‘Learning To Fly’ and her voice was pretty but Dean didn’t tell her so, because it was better like this and he might ruin the moment, so he stayed silent.   
At the hotel they stayed up late and got so drunk they both crashed in Dean’s room; Johanna fell asleep in her clothes sprawled across one of the beds, and he pulled a blanket over her before he went to bed even though he was wasted drunk, because this is safe, he told himself, and he’s not falling, he’s on stable ground.  
When Johanna woke up in Dean’s room with a massive hangover, she just got up and closed the curtains, too tired to go back to her room. Dean, also hungover, handed her a t-shirt, and she put it on.   
“You know,” she said, “Bobby used to have the best cure for a hangover.”   
“What.” Dean groaned.  
“A lukewarm rag soaked in bacon grease.”  
“Ugh.”  
“I’d laugh but it hurts too bad.”  
Dean smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is almost 1600 words, so I hope you people are happy.


	7. Guitars and Memories

The coming weeks consisted of jobs and bars and street racing. It was Dean watching as the locals took on Johanna and lost, and they’d all scatter when the cops showed up. It was him and her and Sam listening to Robert Earl Keen and Dr. Hook and The Stones. It was Dean telling himself that she didn’t mean it like that every time Johanna made a flirtatious comment. It was Dean revealing he couldn’t dance and Johanna insisting on teaching him while Sam watched, laughing. It was as close to heaven as Dean thought he’d get, and he almost didn’t believe it.   
He knew they’d fight again, but instead of walking on eggshells waiting for it, he sat back and enjoyed being on decent terms with her. He wouldn’t remember it, but this would be what he dreamt about when he didn’t have nightmares. These would be the memories that would resurface and make him smile. He told her so one day when they were sitting on Bobby’s couch at the end of a movie. She’d asked him about going to heaven, and he said he’d already been. He told her the story of finding the garden and hearing that God refused to help them.   
“Heaven is like a collection of your greatest hits. You relive your best memories. Mine would be different now than it was then.”  
“How so?” She asked.   
“I’d have more memories.”  
“Like what?”  
“You.”   
Dean could have sworn she blushed. He told himself he was imagining it.  
“Me?”  
“It was after a job. We were back here.” 

~flashback brought to you by Dean listening to Zac Brown Band as a guilty pleasure~

Johanna and Dean sat on the floor at Bobby’s. Dean was cleaning all his guns. He’d long finished, he was just going over the same ones for something to do.   
“Deanna,” She said, “I’m bored.”  
“Okay and?”  
“Let’s go somewhere.”  
“Like where?”  
She didn’t answer, she just jumped up and ran out to the Impala.   
“You drive!” She said.  
Dean climbed in the driver's seat and took off, with Johanna giving him directions. They ended up a few miles outside of town on a long stretch of road. There were a few other cars parked in the grass. Johanna rolled down the window.  
“Hey!” She barked. “Any if you sons of bitches wanna go?”  
Someone stepped up.   
“Yeah, I’ll go!” He said. “This pile of crap probably goes zero to sixty in what, ten years? And Wayland! Riding bitch, I see. You’ve lost your touch.”  
“How ‘bout I use my touch on your lily-white ass?”  
“Nobody insults my Baby.” Dean said. He pulled up to the right lane. The other guy pulled up beside him.  
Johanna grinned. Someone else gave the signal to go. Dean went. He won by six car lengths.   
They came back around to the starting line and sat on the hood, watching the other runs. They were interrupted by a siren and blue lights. Johanna climbed through the driver’s side window, and Dean jumped in the passenger’s seat. She was moving as soon as the door was shut. They sped towards town with the others close behind. The light from the street lamps was turning Johanna’s hair from brown to gold, and she smiled as she pressed the gas harder. Eventually the cop gave up, but she never let off the gas. They blew through Sioux Falls and ended up on an open road on the other side of town.   
Johanna’s hair was windblown and she wore a fiendish grin. Dean turned on the radio. 

“Everything dies, baby that’s a fact,  
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.  
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty,  
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City…”

“I didn’t figure you’d remember that.” Johanna said.  
“I didn’t think you would either.”  
They stayed silent for a while before Johanna spoke up out of the blue.   
“Come with me.”   
She stood slowly and walked out to the Nova. Dean followed and when she started driving, he realized that she was driving to the clearing where they had raced. Looking back Dean realized it had been months. As she pulled up to the other end of the meadow, Dean saw an old quonset hut barely hidden by the trees. Johanna parked near it and went inside. She took out her lighter and lit a few of the candles that served as light.   
“I used to come here when I ran away or when Bobby kicked me out. It’s where I was going at night.”  
He gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean?”  
“I lived with Bobby as a kid. He raised me. I remember you and your dad and your brother when you were little. I saw Sam more than you. He doesn’t remember this, but he called me Annie.” She sat down on the couch in the middle of the room and grabbed an acoustic guitar. “I’d sing myself hoarse.”   
“Play something.”  
“Okay.”  
So she did. She played Ophelia, Landslide, and Mrs. Robinson. Her voice sounded like Mary’s and it made Dean smile. She went from Mrs. Robinson into Atlantic City, and Dean joined in. Then Dean decided to surprise her. He took the guitar off her lap.   
Johanna’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. Dean strummed a few chords and started playing Visions of Johanna. She smiled, but this time it was different from her usual wolfish grin. Softer. Peaceful. 

“Ain’t it just like the night to play tricks when you’re trying to be quiet?  
We sit here stranded, though we’re all trying our best to deny it.  
“And Louise holds a handful of rain,  
Tempting you to defy it.  
Lights flicker from the opposite loft.  
In this room the heat pipes just cough.  
The country music station plays soft,  
But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off.  
Just Louise and her lover so entwined,  
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind.”

He met her eyes as he sang the last line of the chorus, and there it was. That blush that he swore he was imagining. He stopped playing, and she looked at the floor, tucking a lock of hair behind an ear. He handed the guitar back to her. She played and they sang until they were on the verge of losing their voices. They sang Ramble On, much to Dean’s happiness. They sang Wagon Wheel, during which a single tear fell down Johanna’s cheek. Dean didn’t see it. They sang Angie, Behind Blue Eyes, Jack And Diane, Seven Bridges Road, and so many more. They sang every Led Zeppelin song she knew how to play. Then it was Dean’s turn to shed a tear when she played and sang Carry On Wayward Son. Not like the original recording, she sang it like a lullaby, and Dean knew Mary was watching from the clouds smiling.   
When she finished, Johanna shocked him by setting the guitar down and tentatively wrapping her arms around Dean’s shoulders.   
“I needed that.” She said. Then she pulled away.   
When Dean stayed silent, her usual swagger returned.   
“What’s the matter boy, hellhound got your tongue?”   
Dean blinked.  
“We should head back,” he said. “Sam, Jane and Bobby are probably worried.”  
Johanna stood. As an afterthought Dean added, “And bring that guitar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s been a while, I’ve just been busy planning other stories. Also, the way I write is I try to have a backup of at least 2 chapters, and for the past 3 chapters I’ve been working with no buffer. But I’m caught up now so here.


	8. Liquor

Johanna put the guitar in the back seat of the Nova, and they drove back to Bobby’s. When they climbed out of the car, Dean said “Bring the guitar in.”

Johanna gave him a confused look, but she did. Sam and Jane were downstairs in the living room, and Bobby was out on a supply run. As soon as Jane saw that Johanna was holding the guitar, she sat down cross-legged on the floor and looked up expectantly. Sam smiled and followed suit. Johanna sat down on the couch, and Dean sat next to her. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and strummed a few chords, then started playing The Weight. She played and sang, and Dean joined in from time to time.

 

“Take a load off Annie,  
Take a load for free.  
Take a load of Annie,  
And you put the load right on me.”

 

After the song, Sam spoke up.  
“That song gives me deja vu. I don’t know from what though.”  
Johanna and Dean shared a knowing look.   
“Probably,” Johanna said “because you used to know someone named Annie.”   
Sam tilted his head and gave her the puppy-dog look.  
“Come on, Samantha, I know there’s a brain cell somewhere in that Gigantor head of yours. When you were little, your dad would leave you with Bobby. There was a girl with him sometimes, around your brother’s age. You called her Annie.”  
Recognition lit up Sam’s eyes. “Holy crap. I never knew that was you.”  
She gave him the ‘well duh’ look.  
Jane smiled wider.

 

The coming days consisted of everyone begging Johanna to sing again. Most of the time she just rolled her eyes, but occasionally she’d crack under the influence of Dean’s puppy eyes. Whoever said Sam did them better had never been on the receiving end of the squirrel’s. With enough persuasion, sometimes she’d even play Such Small Hands or Travelling Riverside Blues. Sam liked Broken Halos. Johanna decided that that would be in her heaven, the night after a hunt, drinking beer and playing music. 

Even Bobby joined in when he found an old harmonica. They played an obscene amount of Levon Helm including, quite ironically, Sweet Johanna.   
The heaven lasted for about a month before they fought, like Dean expected. This time, it was big. They’d returned from a werewolf hunt, and Jane had been sliced almost to ribbons. They managed to stitch her up without needing to go to the hospital, but it was still the first time Dean had seen Johanna actually scared. Instead of her usual calm self, she’d slipped into autopilot. She’d been white as a sheet, and even after they sewed Jane up, she just stood numbly in the center of the living room. 

Dean had exploded. “That,” he pointed upstairs where Jane was, “Is exactly why you don’t have any family!” He realized his mistake as soon as the words came out of his mouth. She didn’t hit him. She stayed completely silent. Crap. Crap.  
The look she gave him couldn’t be described as anything other than pure rage. There was something else behind it. Even Lucifer would have shat himself if he’d seen the anger in her eyes. 

Before Dean could say anything, she turned on her heel and walked out the door. He heard her sling gravel as she pulled out of the lot. He ran out to his car and pulled out after her. By the time he was out of the driveway, she was long gone. He called her with all of his phones, but didn’t get an answer, and figured she was at the meadow playing one of her guitars. He drove at 80 all the way to the clearing, but she wasn’t there. Disappointed he turned around and found the nearest bar. Sure enough, the Nova was in the parking lot. He walked inside and found her with a glass of something strong. He sat down next to her. She turned to face him.  
“What.”  
“I’m sorry. I know that was a dick move.”   
“Sorry?” She gave a humorless laugh. “Why? You’re right.”  
“No, I’m not. You do have a family.”  
“My family is dead. Because of me.”  
“We’re your family, dammit!”  
“No. You’re not. Not you. Not Sam. Not Jane. Not even Bobby.”  
“And why are you so bent on going it alone?”

“When I was seven, I came home and saw my parents with black eyes. They looked at me, and then their necks snapped. But they stayed alive. I ran. My little brother was in that house, and I ran. Didn’t even think to see if he was alive. He was two. I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”  
“It wasn’t your fault.”   
“Don’t lie. I could’ve gone back.”  
Dean kept silent.   
“See?”

He didn’t know what to say, so he laid a hand on her knee. She ignored him.   
“Are you just going to stay here?” He asked.   
“Probably.” She shrugged.  
“No you’re not.” Dean said firmly.  
“Says who?” She laughed.  
“Me. We’re going to go back to Bobby’s, and you aren’t going to let this tear you up. This is why you don’t trust people, isn’t it? You’re afraid of the same thing happening.”  
“So what if it is? And who are you to be talking to me about this?”  
“It’s do as I say, not do as I do.” 

Johanna stayed silent for a moment, and then; “Fine.”  
They drove back to Bobby’s. Dean religiously checked his mirrors to make sure she was still behind him. She was.  
When they returned, Jane was gone. She’d left a note saying that she needed a break and not to be worried because she had her gun with her. Johanna was on autopilot. She started moving towards the stairs, but Dean pulled her into the living room. She sat down on the couch, face numb and back stiff as a board. His chest twinged a bit and it was the first time he allowed himself to admit that yeah, maybe he has a soft spot for her.

He turned on a movie, something with Hugh Jackman, but she didn’t stir, she just stared straight ahead. Okay, he’d have to try again. Dean pulled out a bottle of liquor. She blinked. He poured two glasses and she downed hers as soon as it was in her hand. Sighing, Dean poured her another cup. She drank the second one slightly slower. When she finally started to relax, Dean sat down next to her.

“Listen, Johanna, I’m sorry.”  
He was met with silence.  
“Your parents… it wasn’t your fault.”   
She blinked. “What do you want me to say?” Her voice was raw, but from emotion rather than any physical cause.  
Dean wasn’t sure how to respond, so he changed the subject. “You said Bobby raised you? How did that happen?”

Johanna sighed and melted into the couch cushions. “When I was little, we lived just outside of Vermillion. After I… saw them, I ran. I had a little money that my parents had given me before I left that morning, so I hopped on a bus. I ended up here, and a cop found me. Guess I looked suspicious, rogue kid wandering the streets. He took me to the sheriff. Jody Mills. She asked me what happened, and I told her. All of it. She knew Bobby so she called him thinking he could help. He got to the sheriff’s office, and when Jody told him what I said, he took me home. Asked if I had anywhere to go. I said no, he said I could stay for awhile. He taught me about demons, and that turned into hunting in general. God knows where I’d be if he hadn’t.”

Unsure of what to say, Dean turned back to the movie that was still playing. The Prestige. He felt like he should say something but he didn’t know what, and God he knew it was a risky move and he’d probably get punched, but he draped an arm over Johanna’s shoulders anyway. He prepared himself for the raised eyebrows or the punch to the jaw, but she shocked them both and leaned her head on his shoulder. Dean blamed the liquor.

A/N: I don’t usually do this, but it feels necessary here. So my friend and I got the amazing idea to write a whole bunch of Supernatural fics. Here’s a list of what to look forward to (or dread):

Sam x Female OC

Chuck x Female OC

Claire x Kaia

Gabriel x Rowena

Lucifer x Reader

(And the ever-controversial) Wincest

 

This may or may not be the order that they are posted in, it just depends on what gets written when. We’ll probably have multiple WIPs at the same time, and as with this one, we don’t have a posting schedule. Sorry for the long author’s note, I’m gonna leave now.

Peace,

//Virginia


	9. I'M NOT DEAD

Greetings loves,

So, it's been a fucking minute. Sorry about that. School hasn't helped anything, and for about a month I had really bad writer's block. I knew where I wanted the story to go, but I wasn't sure how to get it there, so I started at the epilogue and wrote the chapters backwards. After that I was just in a really black mood for a bit, but now I've got everything together enough that this story will be returning soon. Posting will be spotty at best especially through next month, but you can hopefully expect a chapter before July. Sorry for the long hiatus and no notice, I just had to take some time away from everything. In other news, we've finally got a chapter ready to go on one of the other stories I mentioned, so maybe that will be up soon as well. Sorry again and thanks to anyone coming back after two months. 

Peace.

//Virginia


	10. Yet another update...

So remember how I said that I would probably have a chapter up by July? Yeah, about that... July has been a month where I've had almost no time to write. I knew it would be this way going in, which is why I had content ready to go, but then I had issues with my account. Passwords were changed (and not by me), people were contacted, and issues were (slowly) resolved. Then, I opened up my computer to publish a chapter, and lo and behold, all of my documents were gone. ALL OF THEM. They were saved somewhere other than my hard drive, so I had no clue what to do other than reach out to the company (who will go unnamed). I was told that the issue would be fixed, and it was, BUT, not all of my documents have been recovered yet. We are working on it, and hopefully I can get a chapter up by the middle-ish of August. I apologize to all of you, I am aware that these are not the best circumstances, but I will publish the next chapter as soon as I get it back. If you are still here, thanks for your patience. I appreciate it. I'm gonna go now, because my computer is burning my thighs.

Peace and Love,

Virginia


	11. Surprises and Denial

The fight broke something inside Johanna. Dean could tell. Or maybe she had always been a little broken, but now he noticed it. She still acted the same, but there was something behind her eyes. When Dean had brought it up, she insisted that he was imagining it. She hadn’t been any more affectionate towards him since she laid her head on his shoulder, either. Not that he expected her to be, and towards him of all people. For a few days after, he’d thought maybe it had meant something, but after a week and a half, he wrote it off as a moment of weakness, a crack in the mask she usually wore. Deep down, Dean even wanted the mask to slip again, wanted it to the point where it was frustrating. He hadn’t realized why he wanted it yet, but somewhere buried underneath it all, maybe a small part of him knew. 

They kept on with the cases; though they were sans Jane. Under Johanna’s orders, she’d stayed away. She called every couple of days to check in. One day, when Johanna was asleep on the couch, the phone rang. Figuring it was Jane, Dean picked up.

“Johanna’s answering service.” He said.

An unfamiliar male voice came across the line. “Who is this?” He asked.

“I’m Dean. What do you want with Johanna?”

“I want to speak to my sister.”

This shocked Dean into stunned silence. Finally, he recovered enough to say, “Are you Ezekiel?”

“This is he,” he said.

Dean interrogated Ezekiel for a few more minutes, and not long after he hung up, Johanna sat upright on the couch. 

“Who was that?” 

“IRS scam.”

“Then why’d you stay on the phone?”

“If I stay on the phone, that’s that much less time that they’re screwing somebody else.”

Johanna smirked. “Saving people, screwing with IRS scammers.”

“Yup.” 

She rolled over and went back to sleep.

 

~time skip brought to you by Dean being in denial~

 

It was a few weeks later, and the gang was relaxing at Bobby’s after another hunt. Jane, as usual, took off as soon as they got back, carrying a fake driver’s license and a gun off to somewhere where she was likely to wake up in an ice bath missing a kidney. Dean and Johanna were in the living room watching old western movies as usual. The latter was draped lazily across the couch, forcing the former onto the floor. 

There was a knock on the door, and Dean stood, flicking the safety off his gun just in case. He opened the door to see a tall, thin man with hair cropped short. He put the safety back on his gun and invited him in. 

“Dean? Who is it?” Johanna called. 

Dean gave the man a look that said ‘not a word,’ and he kept silent. 

When the pair re-entered the living room, Johanna was standing with her arms crossed. She bristled, but then Dean stepped to the left, and her arms fell slack at her sides. An unreadable expression crossed her face, and then, voice thick from holding back tears, she whispered, “Ezzie?”

 


	12. Johanna's Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I know that this chapter is short, but these are just sort of fillers for where the story ultimately has to go, so I promise there will be some normal-length chapters coming soon.

“Ezzie?” Johanna whispered in disbelief. 

He nodded, and Johanna’s whole body trembled with…  _ Something.  _

“What was mom’s maiden name?” She asked, knowing it was him, but needing the proof anyway. 

“Ryerson.” He said. Just seeing her brought tears to his eyes, but seeing her doubt and disbelief made rivers of them run down his face. 

Dean had to jump out of the way as Johanna flew across the room and wrapped her arms around her brother. He buried his face in her hair, still sobbing, and as Johanna hugged him for the first time in twenty-one years, she allowed a few tears to escape herself. After a while she stepped back, looking him up and down. 

“God damn.” She said. 

“What?” He asked, confused. 

“Twenty-one whole years an you still look like I could kick your ass in a fight.” Then her face changed. “Wait,” she said slowly. “How are you here? How did you even know I was still alive?”

That was when Dean finally spoke up. “You really shouldn’t leave your phone out.” He said.

“You did this?” She asked incredulously.

“Maybe.”

“You’re amazing!” She jumped up and down, seemingly unable to contain her happiness.

“Nah,” Dean said sheepishly, but before he could object, Johanna threw her arms around his neck. 

“Is Big Sister going soft?” Ezzie joked. 

She punched him on the arm, and standing side by side, Dean could see how they were related. Same dark hair, both tall and skinny, and they had the same look in their eyes. The one that kept people at bay unless you were brave enough to try and get closer. Johanna hadn’t stopped smiling the whole time. 

Bobby must have heard all the commotion, because he came up from the basement half-yelling, ‘Which one of you idjits is jumpin’ around like a bunny-rabbit on steroids?”

But he fell silent as soon as he saw the newly reunited Wayland siblings. 

“Oh, Anna.” He finally said. 

“Well what are we standing around for?” Johanna asked. “I think we’ve all got some catching up to do, and I could use some food.” She didn’t wait for an answer, she just walked out to the Nova and climbed in. Ezzie followed her, hopping into the passenger’s seat.

“Wanna race?” Dean called as he climbed into Baby.

“Hell yeah!” Said the pair. 

That was when Dean and Bobby knew they were in trouble. 

The foursome drove to a little restaurant where all the waitresses know them by name, and they order beer and cheeseburgers, in true Winchester fashion. 

Ezzie says his piece first. At the beginning, he’s missing a few parts, like details about exactly what happened. But as his story progresses, it gets clearer. Ezzie was adopted by a nice family, went to high school, graduated, and joined the military. He did two tours, and when he got back he started to do some digging on his birth family. He’d had vague memories of a sister, so he talked to his adopted parents, and they were able to give him her name. He looked around for any sign that she was alive, managed to find a phone number by pure luck, and the rest was history. 

Then Johanna told her story. Not the part about the monsters, that was another conversation. She told him how she’d come home and someone had broken Their parent’s necks, and that she ended up in Sioux Falls, where a man named Bobby Singer took her in and taught her how to fight. She went to school off-and-on, because Bobby had to move around a lot, but they always came back to Sioux Falls when they could. She didn’t bother introducing him to Dean, because they were obviously comfortable enough to set this up. She kept her story vague, knowing that soon she would have to explain everything to him, but wanting to savor this first. Mercifully, Dean played along too, and the rest of the meal went well. 

On the way out of the restaurant, Dean and Ezzie were engaged in playful, almost brotherly banter. Johanna looked at her boys and smiled. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, sorry my chapters are a bit short, please let me know how you feel about this one. :)


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